Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
ANN ARBOR — Fall sports are officially underway.
After defeating No. 3 BYU in an exhibition match last week, Utah Valley women's soccer traveled to Ann Arbor to face the Michigan Wolverines, upsetting the home crowd with a 2-1 win on the road.
Michigan native Faith Webber found an open lane late in the match from the top of the box and fired a shot just underneath the keeper, which prompted the loudest reaction of the night from the crowd.
Webber sprinted to her sideline in outstretched arms, with the fans above Utah Valley's bench on its feet cheering for the hometown hero who grew up 50 miles north of Ann Arbor.
Utah Valley (1-0) nearly made it a 2-0 game in the 75th minute when Ruby Hladek found just enough space to launch a ball across the box, which hit the right post and bounced back to her. Hladek rebounded but was not able to get a shot off before defenders swarmed around her.
But just as Utah Valley looked to be in the clear with 71 seconds left in the match, a misread by keeper CJ Graham allowed Michigan (0-1) to tie it up.
With the match poised to end in a tie, Kate Shirts lobbed a perfect pass to Webber, who dribbled past the keeper and fired a shot into the bottom right corner to give Utah Valley the lead with 30 seconds to go in what turned out to be the game-winning goal.
Webber sprinted back to that same sideline, ripping off her jersey as she was piled on by her teammates. The action resulted in a yellow card for Webber, though there was little concern for that for the hometown star.
"We focused on speed of play leading up to this match, and we talked about playing a full 90 minutes. Today, our players did just that," Utah Valley head coach Chris Lemay said. "We've had some significant wins in the program, but I don't know if any are as big as this one. I'm super proud of the entire group."
Utah Valley open up the match aggressively with 11 shots and four on target, with all four shots coming between Webber and Hladek. It was clear Utah Valley was looking to steal a road win against a Big Ten opponent.
Hladek and Webber both had one-on-one opportunities against Michigan keeper Stephanie Sparkowski, but the duo netted zero goals in the first half.
Michigan was able to reach the back of the net in the sixth minute, but it was deemed offsides, ending the Wolverines' best shot in the first half.
The second half started with less action, even when Utah Valley allowed Michigan to get the ball into the box. The pass was just beyond the outstretched leg of an attacking Michigan player, resulting in a poor defensive attempt that allowed another Michigan shot attempt. But the shot sailed over the bar as the teams remained locked up.
The Wolverines will stay in the Great Lakes State as they take on Detroit Mercy on Sunday.
